Authors often tend to write fantasy or science fiction. But maybe you’re a genre-bending rebel who prefers your sci-fi with a splash of fantasy, or vice versa. Luckily, you're not alone.
Fiction that simultaneously draws from science fiction and fantasy tropes is commonly referred to as science fantasy. A story set in a science fantasy world will be scientifically logical and include science-like explanations for supernatural elements. It’s a genre that can be a little slippery to define since sometimes people disagree about what qualifies as magic and what qualifies as scientifically sound given the circumstances of the story (how far into the future it takes place, the level of advancement of technology, etc.).
If you’re planning to fuse science fiction and fantasy in your writing, it would be helpful to read some books in the science fantasy genre. I’ve put together a list of science fantasy books that bend those two genres beautifully.
Here are seven genre-fusing science fantasy books.
1) Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover
In a future dystopia, a parallel fantasy world called Overworld has been discovered. The corporations that run Earth send actors like Hari Michaelson to Overworld as a way to provide the overcrowded world with virtual reality entertainment. In the land of Ankhana, Michaelson is the hero known as Caine, the Blade of Tyshalle, and is the best there is at what he does. At home on Earth, he is a superstar but is bound by a rigid caste society. Now his estranged wife, Pallas Rill, has mysteriously disappeared into the slums of Ankhana and Michaelson must go up against the most treacherous rulers of the two worlds.
This science fantasy novel is the first in the four-book Acts of Caine series. It does a fantastic job of bringing science fiction and fantasy together by juxtaposing the Earth we know with a parallel world full of magic. It features a flawed, realistic protagonist, creative worldbuilding, and some truly epic swordfights.
2) Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman
It has been over a millennium since colonists from far-distant Earth settled in the seismically active—though lovely—world of Erna. The colonists found themselves caught in a battle for survival against the fae, who have the power to prey upon the human mind. Twelve centuries after the colonists were first stranded on Erna, mankind has achieved a precarious stalemate with human sorcerers manipulating the fae for their own profit, unaware that the demonic forces that feed upon these efforts are quickly gaining in strength. As the hordes of dark fae multiply, human Priest, Adept, Apprentice, and Sorcerer will be drawn together for a mission that will not only endanger their own lives but all of humankind.
This is the first novel in the Coldfire trilogy. It is more on the fantasy side of the spectrum but with a dash of science fiction thrown in as well. If you are working on a fantasy story that blends just a bit with sci-fi, this is a great one to study with exceptional writing and deeply complex characters.
3) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
On a dark and stormy night, Meg Murray, her younger brother Charles Wallace, and her mother receive a strange visitor. This unearthly stranger takes Meg, Charles Wallace, and Meg’s classmate Calvin O’Keefe on an incredible adventure through space and time as they search for Meg’s missing scientist father. When he disappeared, Meg’s father was engaged in secret government work on the tesseract problem—a tesseract being a wrinkle in time.
No list of science fantasy books would be complete without this classic. It bends several genres at once—not just sci-fi and fantasy, but children’s, young adult, and adult as well. It’s a story that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages with wonderful characters and a compelling battle of good against evil. Click here to check out an in-depth analysis of what makes this book so great, and how studying it can improve your writing.
4) Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Gideon, raised by unfriendly nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, is ready to run away from a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword and plans to launch her daring escape, but her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without paying a price. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House, has been invited by the Emperor to a deadly trial of wits and skill with the heirs of the other loyal Houses. If she succeeds, she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. She will fail without Gideon’s sword, and the Ninth House will die.
This is the first novel in the Locked Tomb series and features some wildly original worldbuilding. Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space, and it really doesn’t get much cooler than that. The necromancer science-magic is fascinating and amazingly well thought-out. You can learn a lot from this one, but it is also just a heart-stopping good time.
5) The His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
Lyra Belacqua was raised at Jordan College and has fun playing with her best friend Roger. Then Roger disappears and Lyra is taken away to live with the glamorous and mysterious Mrs. Coulter. From there she has thrilling adventures, which eventually include a boy named Will who comes from another world. The two of them travel through various parallel worlds together and meet witches, armored bears, fallen angels, and soul-eating specters. In the end, the fate of the living and the dead will rely on them.
We were just discussing Lyra last week in my post about YA protagonists who feel like real people. If you were to read just The Golden Compass, you might think that this is a straight fantasy story. But the other two books in the trilogy begin to introduce the scientific ideas behind the magic in a wonderfully inventive way. You can learn so much from this trilogy about how to give a scientific explanation for supernatural phenomena in your contest entry.
6) Dune by Frank Herbert
Paul Atreides is the young heir to a noble family who has been tasked with ruling Arrakis, an inhospitable desert planet where the only thing of value is the “spice mélange”—a drug that can extend life and enhance consciousness. The spice is coveted across the universe and is a prize worth killing for. When House Atreides is betrayed, Paul is set on a journey toward a greater destiny than he ever could have dreamed of.
This wonderful novel—the first of the six-book Dune series—has come up a few times before on the blog. I have previously referred to it as being straight science fiction, and that is because this is one of those slippery books I referred to earlier where it can be tough to determine what is magic and what isn’t. This is part of why some think of Star Wars as science fantasy and some don’t—is the Force magic, or is it not? The same question goes for the spice mélange, the drug at the center of Dune’s plot. I personally do think the spice, like the Force, is magic and that this book is a great example of sci-fi with just a pinch of fantasy.
7) Unmoored: Worlds of Pure Chaos by various authors
This collection of science fantasy short stories will transport readers to incredible worlds where medieval castles coexist with spaceships, dragons cohabitate with robots, and ancient magic intermingles with advanced technology. Some stories include “Radio Silence” by Tracy Pitts, where it is year 3045 after the world has been “cleansed” by the Others, and “The Way Stars Glow” by Hannah Greer, where Roxva must search for viable planets for her home, the Queen Ship, to consume.
Unmoored: Worlds of Pure Chaos is an anthology of the winning stories from our July 2022 Worldbuilding Short Fiction Contest. The stories come from the Grand Prize, People’s Choice, and Young Author Grand Prize winners, as well as other anthology contributors. While only some of the stories in the collection are earthbound, they can all teach you a great deal about how to blend fantasy and science fiction within a limited word count. We judges were simply blown away by the quality of the submissions to this contest and now you can enjoy them in one collection, available in ebook and print form.
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